3 Breakout Candidates for the Kansas City Royals in 2022

Dylan Coleman-RP

Dylan Coleman has a live arm, and Royals fans were able to see it late in 2021. Coleman was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 4th round of the 2018 MLB Draft from Missouri State University. He found his way to Kansas City via trade when the Royals traded another local star Trevor Rosenthal to the Padres. In return, Coleman and Olivares arrived in KC. Coleman can light up the radar gun but has filthy off-speed. His ability to pitch out of the bullpen is what the Royals need as veterans Greg Holland and Wade Davis leave the team.

He pitched in five games in relief, logging 6.1 innings, five hits, one earned run, one walk, seven strikeouts. In the 6.1 innings, he faced 25 batters. Since this is a small sample size, baseball-reference.com projected his 2022 season. They project him to pitch 28 innings, giving up 12 earned runs, four home runs, ten walks, 29 strikeouts, facing 120 batters. They also projected a 2-1 record with a 3.86 ERA.

I am an optimist and believe Dylan Coleman will have a spectacular year breaking out even more and posting even better numbers than those projected by baseball-reference.com. Coleman should earn a spot in the bullpen, and getting a full season with the major league ball club will help boost his confidence. He has electric stuff touching 100+ mph on his fastball, and with a heavy fastball, he could be relied upon in clutch situations later in the season. He is a talented pitcher who will have a breakout season.